


Driving Miss Daisy

by Metal_Chocobo



Category: Murder Most Unladylike Series - Robin Stevens
Genre: Car Chases, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-12 10:09:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13545165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Chocobo/pseuds/Metal_Chocobo
Summary: Hazel learns to drive under trying circumstances.





	Driving Miss Daisy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cyphomandra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyphomandra/gifts).



> The timing on this fic is a little fuzzy, possibly during the war, possibly a little after, but definitely 1940s.

It had been a perfectly pleasant drive until someone started shooting at them. Hazel was rather petrified the moment she first registered what was going on, which was when a bullet drilled its way through their windshield leaving a rather nasty hole and cracking half the glass. Luckily, it was her half of the window, which left Daisy with an unobstructed view for driving, and by the second or third shot Hazel’s veins were coursing with adrenaline as she was ready to do something to help them out.

“Then you can take the wheel,” Daisy said.

“What?” Hazel spluttered, belatedly realizing she must have voiced her last thought out loud.

“Take the wheel!” Daisy ordered.

“But I don’t know how to drive!” Hazel flinched as another bullet whistled past. By this point their rear windshield was a jagged mess of glass.

“You don’t know how to shoot either and under the circumstances we don’t have any bullets to waste,” Daisy said as she pulled her pistol out of her handbag. Hazel didn’t know what sort of gun it was, firearms weren’t her forte and she had little interest in learning about them, other than the fact it was a small deadly present from Daisy’s Uncle Felix.

She flashed Hazel a cheeky grin as she suddenly twisted the wheel to take them on a hairpin turn, just barely missing an oncoming lorry. The new road was a downward sloping mess that hugged along the cliff line of the Scottish coast with only the measliest of wooden post fences along one edge to keep them from going over. Of course this was the road Daisy Wells expected her to learn how to drive on as someone shot at them.

“Look out!” Hazel screeched as Daisy nearly smashed into the fencing while half her body was stuck out the window so she return fire. Hazel grabbed the wheel and firmly twisted, steering the automobile back toward the center of the road.

“That’s the stuff,” Daisy said encouragingly. She was clearly more focused on the vehicle behind them than their brush with death she had inadvertently caused. “If you slip into the seat I can crawl into the back or possibly onto the roof for a better shot.”

“You are not getting on the roof!”

“You’re right, that would make me too easy a target. Good thinking, Watson.”

“That’s not what I…” Hazel trailed off and shook her head. “Daisy, I can’t drive!”

“Yes, you can!” Daisy retracted her body so that she was back inside the vehicle and turned to glare at her. She did not touch the wheel. “Hazel, this is a 1940 Oldsmobile. It’s practically automatic, especially when it’s running like it is right now. All you have to do is slide into my seat, keep your foot on the gas pedal, and steer—which you’re already doing, so that’s half the battle! I know you can do this, Watson, because if not, we’re going to die.”

A gunshot punctuated her point perfectly.

“Can you do this, Hazel?” Daisy asked. “Not to be melodramatic, but our lives do depend on this.”

“Y-yes,” Hazel said, feeling the bottom of her stomach drop. She had to be able to do this, otherwise… there was no otherwise. She slid halfway across the front bench seat and nudged Daisy with her knee. “Get in back.”

Daisy gleefully surged over the seat into the back as Hazel half lurched-half leaped into the driver’s seat. The Oldsmobile lost considerable speed as they switched drivers, which allowed their pursuers to close the gap between them, but before Hazel was even properly situated, she had her foot on the gas urging them onward. Though she didn’t have any prior experience, she hit the accelerator with as much force as she could muster and tried to mimic everything else she had previously observed. 

“You’re doing great, Hazel,” Daisy said after shooting off three rounds. “Just keep us on the road and we’ll reach the village in no time!”

Hazel didn’t reply, as she was too busy focusing on the road. They were going nearly sixty miles an hour and the controls were oddly delayed to what Hazel wanted—ideally, instantaneous response—when trying to direct the Oldsmobile, which left them fishtailing far more than she liked as they took the twists and turns. Eventually, she started getting used to the Oldsmobile’s response time as they skidded down the coastal road. This allowed the speedometer needle to creep ever rightward and slowly they started pulling ahead of the creeps chasing them.

“Blast,” Daisy muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Hazel asked, though she couldn’t turn her attention away from the road.

“I’m out of bullets. There should be more in the glove compartment.”

“Why are you keeping them there?” Hazel demanded, glancing to the side when the corner of her eye caught movement. It was Daisy climbing back into the front seat and Hazel immediately regretting looking when it left her slow enough on the next turn that the Oldsmobile scrapped against the wooden post fence.

“Where else would I keep them?”

There wasn’t that much space in the glove compartment, barely even enough for driving gloves, and yet Daisy still managed to extract a box of bullets from it. She withdrew to the backseat, allowing Hazel to fully return her attention to her task at hand. The gunmen and automobile chasing them weren’t her concern at the moment. Nor was whatever Daisy was doing in the backseat. No, all Hazel had to worry about was safely getting them off this road without crashing. She could manage that.

As they tore down the road Hazel could near more gunfire. Some of it came from directly behind her, which she knew had to be Daisy. After one particular shot she heard an exclamation from the backseat. Hazel risked a glance in the rearview mirror and could see the truck behind them careening madly from side to side of the road. Daisy must have finally hit the driver and the other occupants couldn’t maintain control. It was a little shocking, and honestly she didn’t know what to think. She didn’t want anyone injured, but they had been shooting at them moments before.

A bullet cracked the mirror. Correction, even with their driver injured they were still firing on them. Hazel returned her attention to the road ahead of her, but risked a quick glance at her dashboard. From the looks of things they were running low on petrol; that made sense as high-speed chases often consumed more fuel. She didn’t think they could rely on their kinetic momentum and the downward slope to make a successful escape under the circumstances. They had to come up with a new plan.

“Hazel, new plan,” Daisy murmured into her ear as if reading her mind. “If memory serves, there’s a sharp turn coming up in the road soon. I don’t want you turning until the absolute last possible second.”

“But that could send us over the edge!” Hazel protested. This was not the new plan she wanted. She didn’t trust the Oldsmobile to execute a hairpin turn, at least not under her hand. “What would that even accomplish?”

“The Oldsmobile is big enough we block their view of the road ahead. If they don’t know a turn is coming, they won’t be prepared for one and won’t make it with us.”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone, Daisy.”

“They’re shooting at us, Hazel,” Daisy snapped. “The pacifist option flew out the window when that started, especially as we don’t even know why they’re doing it! It’s us or them, Hazel, and I pick—Turn! Hazel, turn!”

Apparently the argument had eaten up all of their excess road because they were at a point where Hazel had to perform an almost ninety-degree turn or plow through the fencing into the sea below. She twisted the wheel to the right as fast as possible in hopes of making the turn, yet she still felt the impact of the Oldsmobile hitting the fence and grinding along it. Out of desperation not to see her death in the oncoming fall, Hazel’s eyes involuntarily shut and her foot left the accelerator. A moment later she heard an even louder crunching noise, which had to be the fence giving way, and felt resistance on the wheel. That was a little odd, but what did she know about how vehicles reacted during a freefall? 

“Hazel, ease up before you crash us into the cliff-side,” Daisy hissed.

“What?” Hazel asked as she opened her eyes to see that they were, in fact, still on the road. Daisy had her hands on the wheel as she half draped herself over her to control the automobile. Hazel twisted around looking for their pursuers, but they were nowhere to be seen. Nor was half the fence. “Where did they go?”

“Over the edge,” Daisy cheerfully replied. “Watson, be a dear and hit the brakes, would you? I want to see if they hit sea or land, but I can’t do that until we’ve stopped.”

Hazel numbly did as she was told and Daisy almost crawled over her to reach the clutch and park the Oldsmobile. Daisy didn’t seem the least bothered by what had just happened and Hazel couldn’t tell if she was putting up a strong front or if she had simply already compartmentalized the day’s events away. Perhaps the fact they had played a hand in several people’s deaths hadn’t occurred to her yet, though it was all she could think about. Daisy left the automobile, but returned shortly and opened the driver’s door. With minimal prodding, she pushed Hazel back into her original position and then slid into the driver’s seat.

“I think they must have landed in the ocean because I can’t spot any sign of those men or their truck. As soon as we get to the village we’ll let Uncle Felix know about this and I’m sure he’ll send someone out here to figure out what happened,” Daisy blithely chattered. “I don’t have the faintest idea why they were shooting at us or—”

“—you didn’t see any sign of them?” Hazel cut in. “Does that mean they could still be alive?”

“Honestly Hazel, I don’t know. I mean, I suppose they could, but it’s bloody unlikely,” Daisy snapped. “Why do you care?”

“Because they were still people, even if they were bad ones!” Hazel shouted. “Why don’t you care?”

“Because I care about us more than I care about them! I would rather a hundred men like them die than have one hair on your head harmed, that’s why!” Daisy huffed and glared at her, which left Hazel feeling vaguely guilty, even though she knew there was no reason to be ashamed. “Do you have any idea what you just accomplished? You drove for the first time ever under what has to be the worst possible learning conditions—people were trying to kill you—and yet you’re here alive on the road while they’re in the drink!”

Hazel couldn’t help smiling when Daisy used one of Alexander’s favorite slang expressions. It added a touch of levity to an otherwise grim situation. However, Daisy seemed to misunderstand the grin because she brightened considerably.

“There, now you’re getting it,” Daisy laughed. “Why I’m so proud of you I could—I could…”

Before Hazel realized what was happening, Daisy had leaned in and kissed her soundly then immediately retreated to her side of the seat. Hazel touched her fingers to her lips and stared at Daisy in shock. Coughing repeatedly, Daisy self-consciously pressed the clutch and put the Oldsmobile back into motion.

“Anyway, good job, Watson,” Daisy added gruffly. She turned her full attention to the road and they briefly traveled in silence. Hazel didn’t mention the fact Daisy had turned pink from the tips of her ears to the point of her nose. Instead she reached out and latched onto her wrist. 

This wasn’t the first time Daisy had kissed her, but it only ever seemed to happen after they nearly died. It was by far the most maddeningly difficult part of their relationship for Hazel to navigate because she didn’t know what it meant for Daisy. Was it simply an expression of joy that they were both still alive or did it mean something more? Hazel wished she knew. She didn’t want to make the wrong move because she didn’t understand what was going on behind Daisy’s stiff upper lip British façade. She had been young and foolish the last time she had gambled with their friendship—too naïve to realize what the loss would have cost. She wasn’t willing to risk it now, not even for something better, which meant following Daisy’s lead like she did in nearly everything else.

Daisy seemed to be more or less back to normal by the time the village came into view. She even sighed in relief as they pulled up to the inn where they were supposed to meet Felix and Lucy. As soon as the Oldsmobile had come to a complete stop she was out and flagging down a porter for their bags. Hazel followed more slowly. The hand that had been on Daisy’s arm felt oddly cold, like it was no longer where it belonged.

“First things first, we find Uncle Felix and let him know about what happened on our jaunt here,” Daisy began, ticking her to-do list off on her fingers. “He has resources to immediately retrieve the truck and I don’t want to wait for answers. Then we find a mechanic and see about getting our Oldsmobile repaired. After the damage she saw in our service, we really ought to name her as well. Then we’ll have lunch and this afternoon I am teaching you how to drive. Properly.”

“Okay,” Hazel replied.

“Okay? Just, ‘okay’ without any sort of argument? Watson, are you feeling alright or are you still in shock?”

“I’m fine, Daisy, or at least I will be,” Hazel laughed. She reached out and caught Daisy’s hand properly this time. “I think this morning provided a very pressing and salient reason for me to learn how to drive. That way I’ll be ready the next time we end up in such a mess because I know that if I want to stay by your side there will be another time. That’s an eventuality.”

“Oh good.” Daisy beamed and squeezed Hazel’s hand before pulling her toward the inn. Felix and Lucy were now both waiting at the doorway for them with matching concerned looks on their faces. Clearly, they had seen the Oldsmobile. “Then tomorrow I can teach you how to shoot.”

“Daisy,” Hazel hissed, but with great resignation she realized that Daisy had already made her decision and from it she would not be deterred.

As Daisy greeted Felix and Lucy, Hazel reflected that there could be far worse skills to learn before they returned home to London. She just hoped she wouldn’t have to put them to the test any time soon. In the meantime there was lunch to look forward to and as they walked into the inn’s dining room, Hazel spied some especially delicious looking pastries. Now that was something for which she could barely wait.


End file.
